News Releases

August 02, 2007

UCSCU Chairman Moses Opio Ogal emphasized the importance of international cooperation at the 2007 World Credit Union Conference.

Calgary, CANADA—The final day of the
2007
World Credit Union Conference featured in-depth
discussions on the relevance of credit union
principles in today’s world.

The morning kicked off with a glimpse into
the
joint World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) and
Canadian Co-operative Association program to
strengthen the supervisory capacity of the
Uganda Cooperative and Savings Credit Union
(UCSCU). In the video, low income credit union
members in Uganda explained how credit unions
had helped them increase their household incomes
and send their children to school. UCSCU
Chairman Moses Opio Ogal emphasized the
importance of international cooperation when he
took stage following the video, a message which
resonated with the crowd.

Next, two highly accomplished industry
leaders
from Poland and the United States discussed how
their organizations serve poor members. Kathy
Bardswick, President and CEO of the Co-operators
Group Limited of Canada, facilitated the
discussion.

Grzegorz Bierecki, Martin Eakes and Kathy Bardswick discussed credit
union principles and serving the poor in Poland and the United States.

Grzegorz Bierecki, WOCCU director and
President
of the National Association of Cooperative
Savings and Credit Unions (NACSCU) in Poland,
explained how a simple letter he received as a
public official from a credit union volunteer
eventually led to the creation of the country’s
largest non-bank financial service network. The
letter had outlined the credit union model as an
effective vehicle for rebuilding a democratic
Poland. Bierecki confirmed that credit unions
are indeed key pillars of democratic societies
because they provide economic freedom, community
bonds and ownership of institutions.

In reference to usurious lenders, a topic
both
speakers broached in talking about their
respective countries, Bierecki commented, “We
think usury is the strongest enemy of democracy,
because it takes away people’s ownership and
freedom. If you don’t take a stand for justice
and freedom, cooperativeness will cease to
exist.”

Bierecki reminded attendees that although
credit
unions have made great gains in helping people
lift themselves out of poverty, much remains to
be done.

“Despite all our work, poor people are still
being punished just for being poor,” he
remarked.

Martin Eakes founded Self-Help Credit Union,
which provides housing finance to minority and
low income groups who cannot get loans from
other financial institutions, right out of grad
school in North Carolina. Having grown up in a
poor community, he had witnessed how hard people
worked just trying to provide for their
families. He also knew that if you gave people
living in poverty a chance—by giving them a loan—
they would do everything they could to pay it
back.

One of Self-Help’s borrowers was a woman who
spent the first night in her new home staring at
the thermostat in gratitude. In the new home,
she would not have to heat the house throughout
the night with an open oven, as she had in the
low-income housing where she had raised her
children. She was at peace knowing her
grandchildren would be warm and safe in her new
home.

“If you have the vision to see a problem, you
have the duty to solve it,” Eakes reminded the
credit union leaders.

Bierecki and Eakes both drove home the
message
that credit union leaders need to go beyond
providing retail financial services and advocate
for policies on the national level to create
environments in which members can grow out of
poverty. Bierecki talked about how NACSCU had
lobbied for greater consumer protection in
Poland, even though the consequences may affect
the credit unions’ bottom line. And Eakes shared
his experience advocating for stricter
regulation of usurious finance companies in
North Carolina that had been misleading
consumers obtaining home loans.

In the afternoon, conference co-host Credit
Union Central of Canada presented an interactive
members’ forum in which participants shared
their experiences and strategies on
environmental stewardship in credit unions.

World Council of Credit Unions is the global trade association and development agency for credit unions. World Council promotes the sustainable development of credit unions and other financial cooperatives around the world to empower people through access to high quality and affordable financial services. World Council advocates on behalf of the global credit union system before international organizations and works with national governments to improve legislation and regulation. Its technical assistance programs introduce new tools and technologies to strengthen credit unions' financial performance and increase their outreach.

World Council has implemented more than 290 technical assistance programs in 71 countries. Worldwide, 57,000 credit unions in 103 countries serve 208 million people. Learn more about World Council's impact around the world at www.woccu.org.

Contact: Rebecca CarpenterOrganization: World Council of Credit UnionsE-mail: rcarpenter@woccu.orgPhone: +1-608-395-2031